Method for disintegrating wood pulp board into its component fibers and reassembling the fibers as a soft bat



Aug. 30, 1966 c. G. JoA 3,268,954

METHOD FOR DISINTEGRATING WOOD PULP BOARD INTO ITS" COMPONENT FIBERS AND REASSEMBLING THE FIBERS AS A SOFT BAT 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Dec. 9, 1963 INVENTOR der 6. dan

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HTTDP/VEYS Aug. 30, 1966 C. G. .10A 3,268,954

METHOD FOR DISINTEORATINO woon PULP BOARD INT0 1Ts- COMPONENT FIBERS AND REASSEMBLINO THE FIBERS As A SOFT BAT Filed Deo. 9, 1963 2 Sheets-sheet 2.

ZZ Z4 INVENTOR der dan A r rare/v V5 E54 MMT United States Patent METHOD FR DISINTEGRATING WOOD PULP BOARD INTO ITS CMPDNENT FIBERS AND REASSEMELING THE FEBERS AS A SOFT BAT Curt G. Ion, cean Ridge, Fla..

(Box 1121, Boynton Beach, Fla.)

Filed Dec. 9, 1963, Ser. No. 329,120 2 Ciaims. (Cl. 19--156.3)

This invention relates to a method for disintegrating wood pulp board into its component fibers and reassembling the fibers as a soft bat.

It has become conventional practice to ship Wood pulp in .the form of webs which have been compacted under calendering presure. The degree of hardness varies, so that the webs are not alike in density. In all such products, however, there is `a tendency for the fibers to be pulverized in the picking apparatus. I seek to retain the fizers at full length.

The invention contemplates passing the pulp web over a cylindrically rounded breaker plate, preferably in multiple plies, and picking the fiber from the sheeting by the action of pins projecting radially from `a picker drum which is rotated tangentially with respect to the rounded nose of the breaker plate to lbend the plies of pulp over the nose of the plate engaging the faces of the successive plies and movin-g toward the ends thereof to discharge the fibers therefrom with a minimum of breakage.

The pins have either staggered or random pattern on the drum so that there will be no grooving action on the pulp web. Their clearance from the Ibreaker bar is very slight. In addition, a series of small air jets are provided along the nose of the breaker bar to tend to support the pulp web and to urge it toward the pins, giving much the same effect as if the b-ar and pins had zero clearance. This `arrangement minimizes aking and also tends to assure that the individual fibers will be separated from the web with minimum breakage.

In furtherance of these objectives, a segmental backing cylinder is provided in the path of the material moving with the picking drum pins from the breaker bar. Each segment has pins projecting toward the drum in offset patterns with as little clearance as is practicable.

If buildup occurs on the pins -of the cylinder segments, the pins of the drum strip the accumulated material from the pins of the cylinder. The movement of the drum sets .up `a substantial vortex movement of air which `aids in carrying pulp fibers through a tangential outlet from the chamber in which the drum operates. The outlet passage leads to a screen belt spanning `a vacuum box and on which the liber is accumulated as a bat of substantially constant thickness.

By bending a plurality `of plies (three, in practice) over the rounded breaker plate, I get superior picking action because the difference in hardness of Vthe several plies enables over-hardness of one ply to offset over-softness of another, and vice versa with the result tha-t uniformity of operation is achieved and the upper plies receive yielding support from the lower plies. This seems to facilitate the separation of fiber from all Iof them, even including the lowermost.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view partially in side elevation and partially in transverse section through apparatus for the practice of the invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged detail view of a porti-on of the apparatus shown in FIG. l.

FIG, 3 is a fragmentary View partially in elevation and partially in section showing the breaker pl-ate and portions of the cylinder as they appear with the drum removed.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary view in inverted plan from 3,253,954 Patented August 3G, i966 ICC the portion of the breaker plate to which air pressure is admitted.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged detail View in section diagrammatically showing how the individual pins -of the drum pene- 4trate the successive plies folded over the breaker plate.

The relatively hard calendered pulp web 10, preferably in multiple plies (three being shown by way of example) is delivered by paired feed rolls I2 .and I4 over `a breaker bar 16 to which the web is held securely by a clamping bar 18.

The breaker bar 16 extends transversely of the direction of web movement, which is from left to right as viewed in FIGS. 1, 2 and 5. The nose portion 2.0` of the breaker har is cylindrically rounded and is in very close proximity to the path of picking pins 22 which project from a picking drum 24 rotated at high speed by motor 25 to move the pins tangentially with respect to the rounded surface Ztl and in counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIGS. 1 and 2. The pins are offset in staggered pattern on the picke-r drum and are spaced at about a quarter of an inch from each other, on the average. Their points are within a few thousandths of an inch from the surface 2@ at the point of tangency. By way of example, and not by way of limitation, a clearance of 0.002-0.005 inch is desirable to obtain optimum picking lof the fiber.

I achieve even less clearance, in effect, by providing the bar 16 with a series of air vents directed toward the drum 24. Conveniently, this can be done by using a plate at 2.6 which has grooves 28 opening toward the drum and registering with a manifold channel 3@ which receives air from a pressure line 32. As best shown in FIG. 5, there is a tendency for the jets of air issuing from the grooves 28 to force toward the drum 24 the leading ends of the pulp web or webs 10. rIo the extent that these we-b ends are deflected toward the drum, the pins 22 of the picking drum extend completely through the plies thus, in effect, reducing the clearance to zero.

Coacting with the pins 22 of drum 24 `are stationary pins 34 preferably also offset in staggered pattern and mounted in cylinder segments 36 and 38. The average spacing of the lpins from each other may be approximately one-eighth inch, .as on the drum, and the clearance between the pins of the cylinder segments and those of `the drum may be approximately 0.010 inch or as close as is mechanically praticable.

The rotation of the drum 24 creates a substantial vortical movement of air Within the housing 4t] and the air thus set in motion tends to carry the pulp liber `through the tangential discharge opening 42 toward a screen belt 44 which is operated over a lower pulley 46 and an upper pulley 48. Behind the portion of the belt enclosed by the belt housing 50 is a vacuum chamber 52 having a suction outlet 54. The arrangement is such that a bat 6i) builds up on the belt 44 as best shown in FIG. 1. The fioating leveling rotors 53 rotate downwardly in opposition to the upward movement of bat on belt 44 and tend to level off ythe bat 60. Any displaced pulp falls toward the bottom of chamber 40 and is entrained in the air stream moving toward the vacuum box, being thereby re-engaged with belt 44. So far as the building up of the bat is concerned, it is somewhat comparable to that disclosed in Patent 3,086,253, issued April 23, 1963.

In the operation of the device, it is preferred that a plurality of separately fabricatedv webs or plies of pulp board are laminated or superimposed and fed concurrently into the apparatus. It is important that the successive pins 22 of the picker drum 24 engage the outer or originally upper surfaces of 4the ply or plies of pulp 10 as these are bent over the rounded nose 20 of the breaker plate 16. Thus, the picking action of the pins is always exerted parallel to the face of the plate toward the free end thereof instead of at right angles to the web. It is found that this contributes materially toward the preservation 4of maximum ber length. In addition, it is found that full length unbroken fibers are more readily obtained when a plurality of plies are fed concurrently over the nose of the breaker plate, than is the case if a single 'ply is fed thereover. Pneumatically urging the free ends of these plies toward the path of the picker drum pins is also a factor.

To minimize the aigglomeration of fibers by electro4 static action the air supplied through the pressure line 32 is preferably humidified heavily with Water or other liquid capable of reducing the electrostatic charge on the bers.

I claim:

1. A method of removing fibers from compacted wood pulp boards which individually have different degrees of hardness and density and reassembling the bers as a s-oft bat and comprising the steps of superimposing in laminated face relation a plurality of such boards so that the aggregate hardness and density of successive sets of such laminated boa-rds tends to be more uniform than successive individual boards, feeding the laminated boards toward a picking drum provided With pins, ro rating the drum and Ibending the laminated boards concurrently into substantial tangency with the movement of the pins so that a lower board yieldingly supports an upper board `and supports said boards in positions such that said pins progressively enter top surface portions of `the successive superimposed boards and move toward the ends of such boards to pick fibers therefrom, delivering such fibers to a bat forming screen and forming a soft bat from said bers on said screen.

2. A method according to claim 1 which further includes the step of pneumatically urging the free end portions Iof said superimposed boards into the path of said pins.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 8,371 9/1851 Sargent et al. 19-83 852,474 5/1907 Tyden 19-1455 1,216,790 2/1917 Faunce 19-80 2,086,592 7/1937 Williams 19-156.3 X 2,331,943 10/1943 Von Osten 19-83 X 3,086,253 4/1963 Joa 19-156 X FOREIGN PATENTS 14,317 1893 Great B-ritain.

5 MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner.

DONALD W. PARKER, Examiner.

D. NEWTON, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A METHOD OF REMOVING FIBERS FROM COMPACTED WOOD PULP BOARDS WHICH INDIVIDUALLY HAVE DIFFERENT DEGREES OF HARDNESS AND DENSITY AND REASSEMBLYING THE FIBERS AS A SOFT BAT AND COMPRISING THE STEPS OF SUPERIMPOSING IN LAMINATED FACE RELATION A PLURALITY OF SUCH BOARDS SO THAT THE AGGREGATE HARDNESS AND DENSITY OF SUCCESSIVE SETS OF SUCH LAMINATED BOARDS TENDS TO BE MORE UNIFORM THAN SUCCESSIVE INDIVIDUAL BOARDS, FEEDING THE LAMINATED BOARDS TOWARD A PICKING DRUM PROVIDED WITH PINS, TOTATING THE DRUM AND BENDING THE LAMINATED BOARDS CONCURRENTLY INTO SUBSTANTIAL TANGENCY WITH THE MOVEMENT OF THE PINS SO THAT A LOWER BOARD YIELDING SUPPORTS AN 